UK travelers looking for a weekend city break away will achieve the best value for money in Eastern Europe, according to a new survey by the British Post Office.
The Travel Money survey based its results on the average cost of a holiday – which includes a one night hotel stay, transportation and other expenses – in 17 cities across Europe, plus the U.S. cities New York and Boston.
Latvian capital Riga came out on top as the best value city, where the basket of surveyed items came to $187.60. Second best value was Prague in the Czech Republic at $220.22. Hungary’s Budapest, Estonia’s Tallinn and Poland’s Warsaw completed the top five.
The most expensive city in Europe was Stockholm in Sweden, with an average city break there costing $510.60.
The comparisons of individual expenses are telling. While a train or bus transfer to the city center from the main airport costs just $2.26 in Riga, visitors in Stockholm would have to shell out a hefty $30.37. Similarly, while a one night stay in a double room at a three star Riga hotel can be had for a bargain $84.82, in Stockholm this works out to be $184.33 per night. Meanwhile, one night in a similar New York hotel would set travelers back $270.79.
The Irish capital Dublin is also a good bet this year for anyone who may have been previously unable to afford a trip to the Shamrock city. Ranked 7th cheapest overall, its travel costs were 12.3% lower than they were this time last year. Other cities to drop in price include Rome (10% cheaper) and Berlin (6% cheaper).
Sarah Munro of Post Office Money Travel said that “these new figures are excellent news for anyone planning a spring city break this year. However, with the wide variety of prices on offer, tourists looking to save money would do well to consider Eastern Europe this time round, where they can save money even though the flights may be a little more expensive”.